Side trigger for fire-arms



(No Model.) L. HILL 86 T. S. E. DIXON.

SIDE TRIGGER FOR FIRE ARMS.

No. 249,240. Patented Nov. 8,1881.

J2 owns ya,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LYSANDER HILL AND THERON S. E.; DIXON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SIDE TRIGGER FOR FIRE-ARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,240, dated November8, 1881.

Application filed August 29, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LYSANDER HILL and THERON S. E. DIXON, both ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have jointlyinvented a new and useful Improve reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a sideview of a revolver-pistol containing our improvements,-a portion of thelock-plate having been broken way. Fig. 2is a top view of the same. Fig.3 is a detached sectional view, showing one form of trigger that may beemployed; and Fig. at is a detached'view, showing one form of adjustmentthat may be employed for the finger-rest.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts.

In firing a pistol the weapon is grasped by the right hand,with thethumb resting against the left-hand side of the upper part of thestock,an l the forefinger extending under the stock and forming asupport for the barrel. The movement of the finger in pulling thetrigger is therefore a movement or displacement of the barrel-support,and necessarily tends to disturb the aim by either drawing the muzzledown, throwing it up, or otherwise deflecting it at the moment offiring, and theleverage of the trigger upon the barrel tends to increasethis deleterious result. Great experience and careful practice mayenable some persons to guard against this deflection of the barrel, butothers are never able to overcome the difficulty, and consequently cannever become skillful in the use of the instrument. Inexperiencedpersons are almost invariably liable to firetoo high or too low, fromthe cause referred to.

The first object of our invention is to so improve the pistol as toavoid this defect in its construction by enabling it to be fired by aneasy, natural, and normal movement of those parts of the hand which donot perform any important function in the support of the barrel. To thisend we arrange the trigger at the upper left-hand side of the stock orlook in such position that the thumb naturally and without effort restsupon it or immediately contiguous to it when the pistol is grasped forfiring, and we construct it to yield in the direction of the easiest andmost powerful movement of the thumb thus resting upon or near it. Bythis means the forefinger, which supports the barrel, is required tomake no movement in firing, and the slight movement of the thumbdisturbs no muscles required for the support or aim of the pistol. Thethumb-piece of the trigger is arranged preferably at the point shown inthe drawings, but it may be arranged above or below that point, orforward or back of it, without departing from theprinciple of theinvention. It should not be arranged so high as to be in vertical linewith the middle of the stock, as that would, in firin g, cause the thumbto be twisted sidewise so far as to cramp or distort the muscles of thehand and interfere with the steadiness of the aim, and, besides, wouldbring the thumb in line with the sights and interfere with sighting thepiece. The proper position of the thumbpiece is therefore at the side ofthe stock or look, and within therange of the thumb when resting easilyagainst such side.

For left-handed persons the pistol may be arranged with the trigger onthe right side instead of the left.

It will be observed that the above-described arrangement of the triggerleaves the forefinger perfectly free to perform the single function ofsupporting the barrel and steadying the aim.

Our second improvement is designed to assist it in the performance ofthis function; and to that end it consists in providing the under sideof the pistol with a rigid finger-rest, arranged at such a distanceforward of the bend of the stock that the forefinger, when hooked aroundits front side, will be held to a certain extent in tension, so as toclamp the piece between the palm or ball of the hand and the forefingerwithout the necessity for substantially any retraction of the muscles inholding and aiming the pistol. To illustrate our meaning, the trigger asheretofore constructed was arranged under the stock, so near the bendthereof that the finger had to be positively retracted in order to bearstrongly against it-a necessary provision in that class 'ofpieces, be

cause if the firing-trigger were arrangedso far forward as to normallybring the tensional pressure of the finger upon it the piece would beliable tov premature diseharge; but in our invention the forefinger,having no firing-function, can be arranged well forward, and the onlyeffect thereof will be to relieve the muscles to a very great extentfrom positive retraction in holdingthe piece, enabling the hand to graspand hold the pistol as in a vise, and with so trifling an effort as tocause no muscular tremor whatever. In carrying-this part of ourinvention into practice the finger rest should, in the ordinaryrevolver-pistol, be arranged underv the rear portionof the cylinder, inwhich position the forefingerwill gbeput in an easy but positive tension when hookedaroundit. If desired, the-fingerrest; canbe madesliding oradjustable in line of the barrel by, any, suitable means, (for example,like thatemployed to adjust the jaw of a/monk'eywren0h,) to enable it tobe adjusted and fixed in position to suit thehand of the user;

Inthedrawings, A indicates the barrel, B the stock, G, the cylinder, and-D the hammer, of a common; form of revolver-pistol.

The ordinary triggerunderthe breech is dis;

pensed-with, and a thumb-trigger, E, is em ployed in itsstead.

restingover the-back and side of the piece. The piece is fired bypressing the'projection einward toward the. stock or look, although ifit were arranged to I be pressed backward, for-' manufacturer mayprefer, such possible modi fications of arrangement or structure beingso numerous and so obvious that it is not necessary here-to describethem.

The finger-rest abovereferred to is shown at F,and is arranged inordinary revolver-pistols under the rear portion of the cylinder,and

in other pistols in an equivalent position or at an equivalent distancefrom the bend of thestock. Thescrew-rod and head foradjusting it areshown at 0 v, the former passingthrough the sliding rest. i

We prefer to employ the ordinary and wellknown forms-of pivoted hammerDin connection with our improvements, as thereby the pistol can beeasily and quickly cooked by the thumb without lowering the fire-armfrom its The end 0 of the trigger;- whichis pressed in firing,projectsfrom the, side of the stock or lockwithin range-of the easynatural movement of the-thumb whenthe fire-arm to aim.

aim. Thisimproved effect, which gives substant-iall'y the same.advantage as by the employment of a cocking-trigger, is mainly due tothe use of the rigid finger-rest, which enables the instrument to be sofirmly grasped independently of the thumb. The pistol thus constructedcan .be fired much more rapidly than as heretofore constructed and used.If

preferred, however, a firing-pin, needle, or other known means'ofexploding the fulminatc may be substituted for the hammer.

The above-described improvements are applicable to other fire-arms thanpistols, although'in arms which are to be grasped by both hands infiring the advantages of our construction would not be so great as inpistols. Our several-improvements may be usedinde pendently of or inconnection with each other..

The finger-rest, even when not advanced,' as abovedescribed, willbe ofassistance in con-i.

nection with the thumb-trigger arranged a t-,1 the sidefor holding :thepiece steadily while,

. v.9? firing; but when advanced, as described, 1ts= efficiencyisgreatly increased, and when so."- advanced itwill perform a very usefulservice whatevermaybe the arrangement or location of the thumb-trigger.When used in connec-- tion with both thethumb-triggerand pivoted].hammerit also enables the piece to be cooked as well [as fired by thethumb; and some other forms of hammer are or may be made capable. of thesazneadvantage inconnection with it.

The trigger, partially sunk. in a recess in the. stock or lock-plate, orprotected by sideguards,]

g g, is in no danger of beingrbroken or injured, and further guards willnot be needed, although any form of guard may be used,if preferred.

The improvements add nothing to thecost of the instrument, do not in anyway affect the manner or results of its use, exceptadvantageously, asabove set forth, render itas convenient for carrying in the pocket or ina holster. as any other form of pistol, and, if 1 anything, render itless liable to accidental.

discharge; than the old forms of pistol, inas}...

much as the trigger is protected by the thumb, I and there is lesstendency to press it with .the thumb by accident than to press the oIdfash ioned finger-trigger by accident when raising. The improvementsmay, readilyand cheaply be applied to old pistols of the gformsgenerally in use by alterations which any skillful machinist can easilymake from the information herein given.

Havin g thus described our inven tionfwe claimas new- I 1;, A fire-armhaving the hammer combined.

the thumb when the piece is grasped for firing, whereby the piece, whencooked, is discharged by simply pressing the thumb against saidtrigger,substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. A fire-arm having the hammer combined witlra firing-trigger'which isarranged at the 3 side of the stock or look within easy rangeof with alaterally-moving firing-trigger which is arranged at the side of thestock or look within easy range of the thumb when the piece is graspedfor firing, whereby the piece, when cocked, is discharged by simplypressing the thumb inward against said trigger, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

3. In a pistol, the combination of a side thumb firing-trigger, which,when pressed, discharges the piece, with a projecting rigid finger-restunder the piece, to be grasped by the forefinger, and with the barrel,stock, and lock, substantiallyas and for the purposes described.

4. In a pistol, the combination of a side thumb firing-trigger, which,when pressed, dis-

